Guantanamo Closure Still In The Works As U.S. Reduces Backlog Of Detainees, Official Says

MIAMI (AP) — President Barack Obama is moving ahead with his push to close the Guantanamo Bay prison despite the uproar over the exchange of five Taliban prisoners for a captured American soldier, an administration official said Thursday.

The government has been working to reduce a backlog of prisoners already approved after a security review for transfer to their homeland or repatriation elsewhere, the official told reporters.

The official said a "significant number" of prisoners are on their way toward release, but he declined to say precisely how many or when they would leave Guantanamo. The remarks were made on condition of anonymity amid fierce criticism in Congress over the decision to swap the five Taliban for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

The U.S. holds 149 men at Guantanamo. Most have been there without charge since the detention center opened in January 2002 to hold prisoners suspected of links to al-Qaida or the Taliban.

Among the total are 78 who have been cleared for transfer to their homeland or repatriation to another country if the U.S. can get required security assurances.

Obama came into office pledging to close the detention center within a year but was thwarted by Congress, which adopted restrictions on transfers abroad and a ban on transferring prisoners to the United States for any reason.

Last year, Congress eased the restrictions on transfers abroad but left in place a 30-day notice requirement that the Obama administration chose to skip in exchange for rescuing Bergdahl from captivity after five years.

Several Republicans in Congress are determined to keep Guantanamo open and bar Obama from transferring any prisoners.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican from New Hampshire who is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a chief proponent of keeping the prison operational, said the Bergdahl swap represents a "real-case example" that she and other lawmakers can use in arguing for tougher restrictions on Guantanamo detainees.

She said Bergdahl's case highlights "the risk that we take when we're transferring high-risk detainees to third-party nationals that we can't necessarily account for their security and ability to get back into the fight."

Another member of the committee, Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, has said he will introduce legislation next week to prohibit any transfers from Guantanamo until Congress learns more about the Bergdahl case.

Photo reviewed by U.S. military officials shows the Guantanamo Bay Camp VI in Guantanamo, where 70 prisoners are detained, on Guantanamo October 23, 2010. (Getty)

Photo reviewed by U.S. military officials shows the Guantanamo Bay Camp VI in Guantanamo, where 70 prisoners are detained, on Guantanamo October 23, 2010. (Virginie Montet/AFP/Getty Images)

Photo reviewed by U.S. military officials shows 'comfort items' given to the detainees: newspaper, games and one PS3 for the whole camp at Guantanamo Bay Camp VI in Guantanamo where 70 prisoners are detained on Guantanamo October 23, 2010. (Virginie Montet/AFP/Getty Images)

Photo reviewed by U.S. military officials shows a silence sign inside the Guantanamo Bay Camp VI in Guantanamo, where 70 prisoners are detained, on Guantanamo October 23, 2010. (Virginie Montet/AFP/Getty Images)

Photo reviewed by U.S. military officials shows a class area in the Guantanamo Bay Camp VI in Guantanamo, where 70 prisoners are detained, on Guantanamo October 23, 2010. (Virginie Montet/AFP/Getty Images)

Photo reviewed by U.S. military officials shows a cell in the Guantanamo Bay Camp VI in Guantanamo, where 70 prisoners are detained, on Guantanamo October 23, 2010. (Virginie Montet/AFP/Getty Images)

Photo reviewed by U.S. military officials shows a senior medical officer demonstrating how the detainees who refuse to eat are fed with a feeding tube in the hospital of the Guantanamo Bay Camp VI in Guantanamo. (Virginie Montet/AFP/Getty Images)

Photo reviewed by U.S. military officials shows Lieutenant Colonel Andrews McManus, deputy commander of the Joint detention group commander, inside the hospital for the detainees of the Camp VI in Guantanamo Bay. (Virginie Montet/AFP/Getty Images)

Photo reviewed by U.S. military officials shows a recreation area in Camp VI in Guantanamo Bay. (Virginie Montet/AFP/Getty Images)

Image has been reviewed by the U.S. Military prior to transmission.
A U.S. military guard tower stands on the perimeter of a detainee camp at the U.S. detention center for 'enemy combatants' on September 16, 2010, in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. With attempts by the Obama administration to close the facility stalled, some than 170 detainees remain at the detention center, which was opened by the Bush administration after the attacks of 9/11. The facility is run by Joint Task Force Guantanamo, located on the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay on the southeastern coast of Cuba. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Photo reviewed by U.S. military officials shows Camp Justice, where the media is housed on Guantanamo, October 22, 2010. (Virginie Montet/AFP/Getty Images)

Image has been reviewed by the U.S. Military prior to transmission.
A U.S. military guard tower stands on the perimeter of a detainee camp at the U.S. detention center for 'enemy combatants' on September 16, 2010, in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (John Moore/Getty Images)